Deliberate Giving

It’s that time of year when companies can expect to make their biggest paycheck of the year.

With the costumes and decorations from Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, not to mention travel plans to bring family and friends around the world together, meaningful presents full of surprises and food for the 12 days of feasting (or more), its a huge win for all around consumerism.

My inbox is full of emails with news on sales, specials and last minute discounts I need to take advantage of before the merchandise is gone. However one email blast in particular stood out to me.

It was a message from the President of an eCommerce store asking for reflection on whether we should buy more or spend less this season.

Do we need more presents?

Let’s think about it. The items we actually need in life don’t we buy them for ourselves? I’m not knocking presents, after all surprises are great and as a giver I feel equally as happy as the receiver of one of my gifts. But do I really need to spend more this season, or should I focus on giving generously to those who will actually benefit from my gift.

I think we sometimes underestimate the value of one person, how one action can can make a huge difference.

We have an opportunity to be an impact every single day, but its during the holidays we deliberately focus on giving. So think about it. What is it you need this holiday season? And what is it you will give?

Let’s not make this holiday season a empty ritual to fulfill the mandatory standards of consumerism. Let’s make sure it’s meaningful and we truly appreciate how far we have come, how much we have and how much we have to give.